Tongs



l. BERNATH.

TONGS.

APPLICATION msn AuG.24, 191s.

Patented Apr. 27,- 1920.

JOSEPH IBERNATH, OF 'MERRILL MICHIGAN.

TONGS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 27, 1920.

Application led August 24, 1918. SeriaI No. 251,231.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JOSEPH BERNATH, a subject of the Emperor of Austria,residing at Merrill, county of Saginaw, and State or' Michigan, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Tongs, of which thefollowing is a speciiication.

This invention relates to improvements in culinary utensils, andparticularly to a fork-shaped instrument for use by cools when removing`the hot covers of pots, bo1lers, saucepans, etc.

It is the object of the invention to provide a simple and readilymanipulated device for firmly grasping the hot covers without danger ofburning or otherwise hurting the hands of the cook.

Further objects and advantages `oi? this instrument will appear in thefollowing description, and the novel features thereof will bespecifically pointed out in the appended claim.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of theinstrument constructed according to the present invention, and

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all theviews of the drawing.

As shown, the instrument consists essentially of wood or similar heatnon-conducting material, and comprises a handle member 10 provided atone end with a ringl 11 for the convenient suspension of the instrumentfrom a nail, etc., when not in use. The opposite end of said member issubstantially channeled and forms at its eX- tremity a gripping finger12 having a substantially straight part 13 and a curved part 14 formingat their meeting points an angle or shoulder 15.`

Intermediate its ends this member 10 is provided with an integralupwardly directed projection or nose 16 to which is pivotally secured,as at 17 a second handle member 18 made of the same material and asshown, somewhat shorter than the member 10, channeled to present avcurved cross-section and ending in a point` 19. The upper face of thisend is provided with corrugations 20 to afford a firm grip for the thumbof the operator. pivot 17 this member 18 carries at its underside a stud21 opposite a similar stud 22 at the upper face of the member 10. Aspiral spring 23 is secured with one of its ends t0 the stud 22 and withits other end to the stud 21, and tends normally to hold both members,10 and 18 apart. The opposite end of the member 18 is formed above thecurved part 14 with a similar part 211 and above the extremity of thefinger 12 with a detent 25and the meeting parts of said detent 25 andpart 24 form an angle 26.

It will be clear that when the member 18 is pressed down by the thumb ofan operator grasping the member 10 with his hand, the edge of a hotcover can conveniently be grasped between the fingers 12 and 25 and willfind a rest upon the straight part 13, so that upon the release of thethumb, the handle members by the action of the spring will grip thecover tightly and allowa removal of the same from a pot or similarvessel on the stove which then may be deposited at any desired place bythe operation of handle member 18 releasing the grip -of the instrumenton said cover.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is i- An instrument of the character described,comprising in combination, a gripping member of round cross-section atone end and channeled at the other, a ring at the round end forsuspending the instrument and a grip at the channeled end having astraight portion and a shoulder formingi an angle at their meetingpoints, and a second gripping member pivotally secured to said irstnamed member intermediate their ends, a shoulder on said second member,and a detent on the same oppositely disposed to the shoulder and griprespectively on said first member, and coperating with the same forgripping the edge of a pot cover between both members.

In testimony whereof I have aiiixed my signature.

JOSEPH BERNATH.

At a certain distance from thel

